Let me start of first by saying I am an Apple guy, MacBook, iPad and usually and iPhone but every year or so I dip into Android, usually not for too long but it happens like clockwork. I have used the G3 for a week now and this is my initial review.
Hardware: The G3 is a beautiful device. The ultra thin bezels and huge screen go hand in hand and I actually like the placement of the buttons although I cannot say I used them much because of Knock code. The screen itself is beautiful, but when put next to a phone like the Galaxy S5 it doesn't quite measure up color wise. I like my headphone jack on the bottom because it is what I am used to so that was a plus for me and not having a door between me and the charging port was nice after my brief time with the S5. Having the ability to remove the battery was a nice touch and I enjoyed the plastic back on the phone.
Battery: Battery life was a mixed bag on the G3 for me. Two days during the weekend saw a 5 hour screen on time with almost 32 hours on the battery, but the rest of the days have been about 12 hours on the battery before needing a charge with only 3-4 hours screen on time and some light music streaming. Overall about the same as my iPhone 5s when comparing.
UI/Android: I will be one of the first to say Android as a whole is fantastic, but not without its quirks. Emoji support is a nice touch although I feel it is very poorly integrated compared to iOS. Getting to the emoji usually required an extra step compared to iOS or it was so choppy it was tough to use. The icons on the S5 were also way better than both iOS and LG. The overall UI is flat and coming from iOS it was familiar so I enjoyed it. The popup text messaging was really nice with the quick reply and I cannot wait to see what Apple's looks like in iOS8 once it finishes beta testing. Overall the UI was smooth in most places, but the app drawer always seemed to studder.
Sound quality: Playing music through the back speaker isn't terrible although I wish everyone, including Apple, would put the speakers on the front, HTC style. The music quality through the headphones was decent, though I must say I prefer Apple for all things music because of familiarity and to me the sound quality on Apple devices, at least through headphones, is better. This may be me just being biased though.
Apps: I will always say iOS apps run way more smoothly than Android apps. The Facebook and Twitter apps on Android are terrible compared to iOS as well as favorite apps of mine Sportscenter and MLB At Bat. They lag, crash often and in some cases look less polished. The Chase Bank app has not been updated in a few years on Android UI wise which leads me to believe that they, like other developers, pay less attention to Android development. Games on Android all seem about the same though and play a little better on higher end hardware. Android is catching up the iOS in app quality, they just aren't there yet to me.
Overall: I love the G3, but it has its quirks. Some of these quirks are related to the phone and its UI and some are related to Android as a whole. I will not be keeping my G3 and will instead return to Apple firm grip it has on me, but that doesn't mean my time with the dark side wasn't fun. Hopefully you guys see this review as partially biased, but fair and can appreciate the view from the other side of the fence from someone with experience with both platforms.
So what do you guys think? Feel free to sound off!
Hardware: The G3 is a beautiful device. The ultra thin bezels and huge screen go hand in hand and I actually like the placement of the buttons although I cannot say I used them much because of Knock code. The screen itself is beautiful, but when put next to a phone like the Galaxy S5 it doesn't quite measure up color wise. I like my headphone jack on the bottom because it is what I am used to so that was a plus for me and not having a door between me and the charging port was nice after my brief time with the S5. Having the ability to remove the battery was a nice touch and I enjoyed the plastic back on the phone.
Battery: Battery life was a mixed bag on the G3 for me. Two days during the weekend saw a 5 hour screen on time with almost 32 hours on the battery, but the rest of the days have been about 12 hours on the battery before needing a charge with only 3-4 hours screen on time and some light music streaming. Overall about the same as my iPhone 5s when comparing.
UI/Android: I will be one of the first to say Android as a whole is fantastic, but not without its quirks. Emoji support is a nice touch although I feel it is very poorly integrated compared to iOS. Getting to the emoji usually required an extra step compared to iOS or it was so choppy it was tough to use. The icons on the S5 were also way better than both iOS and LG. The overall UI is flat and coming from iOS it was familiar so I enjoyed it. The popup text messaging was really nice with the quick reply and I cannot wait to see what Apple's looks like in iOS8 once it finishes beta testing. Overall the UI was smooth in most places, but the app drawer always seemed to studder.
Sound quality: Playing music through the back speaker isn't terrible although I wish everyone, including Apple, would put the speakers on the front, HTC style. The music quality through the headphones was decent, though I must say I prefer Apple for all things music because of familiarity and to me the sound quality on Apple devices, at least through headphones, is better. This may be me just being biased though.
Apps: I will always say iOS apps run way more smoothly than Android apps. The Facebook and Twitter apps on Android are terrible compared to iOS as well as favorite apps of mine Sportscenter and MLB At Bat. They lag, crash often and in some cases look less polished. The Chase Bank app has not been updated in a few years on Android UI wise which leads me to believe that they, like other developers, pay less attention to Android development. Games on Android all seem about the same though and play a little better on higher end hardware. Android is catching up the iOS in app quality, they just aren't there yet to me.
Overall: I love the G3, but it has its quirks. Some of these quirks are related to the phone and its UI and some are related to Android as a whole. I will not be keeping my G3 and will instead return to Apple firm grip it has on me, but that doesn't mean my time with the dark side wasn't fun. Hopefully you guys see this review as partially biased, but fair and can appreciate the view from the other side of the fence from someone with experience with both platforms.
So what do you guys think? Feel free to sound off!
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram